KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — The ringgit continued to close lower against the US dollar today despite firmer crude oil prices as local sentiment remained weak with the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country.
At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.2330/2355 versus the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.2310/2350.
“Moreover, investors were anxious ahead of the United States (US) Federal Reserve meeting whereby the tapering of asset purchases could occur earlier than expected due to strong inflation in the US,” Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim told Bernama.
Malaysia hit another record high of 17,405 Covid-19 cases today, bringing the cumulative positive cases to 1,061,476 since the pandemic broke out in the country early last year.
Meanwhile, OANDA Asia Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said even the spike in oil prices is unlikely to strengthen the local note at the moment amid worsening Covid-19 situation and political fragility.
At the opening bell, the local note was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
The ringgit decreased against the euro to 5.0017/0047 from yesterday’s close of 4.9845/9893 and depreciated vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.8489/8515 from 3.8418/8458.
The local unit weakened against the British pound to 5.8733/8768 from 5.8286/8341 and declined versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1141/1162 from 3.1099/1131. — Bernama
